Building exhibits in symbiosis with the public

School children were invited to put their questions and express their ideas about the sea in the pages of a local newspaper. The questions were grouped and used, in their original formulation, as the titles of the interactive exhibits at the Maremagnum Hall of the Aquarium Finisterrae. This enabled us to design the contents of the Aquarium according to the demands of its future visitors.

Does it work?

We received thousands of questions! Local media covered the activity under their own initiative, turning it into a powerful advertising tool. On the other hand, this approach to content selection has strengthened our interest in finding new ways to satisfy the specific demands of the public regarding to Science. It has also served as a showcase of the huge gap between what experts and academics usually think is important and what may interest the lay person.

Advice if you’re thinking of trying it:

Keep an open mind and assume that what people want to know may not match your own views as an “expert”. There is much juice to extract from this fact!